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Jim Bouton

  (4:47 PM)

Bouton will not be stopping by until <b>Friday at 3 p.m. ET</b> but you can send your questions now and we will save them for his arrival. Just enter your name and comment/question then click "Post Message" to submit it. See you Friday!

Jim Bouton

  (3:01 PM)

Hi sports fans! Thanks for stopping by!

Dan Shvartsman (Burlington, MA)

Jim, first off, Ball Four is one of my favorite books ever, and easily the funniest. I have two questions. Do you think that there's that sort of personality and humor still in clubhouses today, or are athletes more business like and focused on other areas than having fun? And how do you feel about the knuckleballers carrying on the legacy today, chief among them being Tim Wakefield?

Jim Bouton

  (3:04 PM)

Maybe the clubhouses aren't as much fun today because many of the players have had the homogenizing experience of college, and they are surrounded by coaches and managers. In my day, most players signed directly out of high school and were more partally formed and therefore more interesting. So you had Brooklyn and Alabama mixed together, and the guys were more loose and spontaneous and less controlled.

Jim Bouton

  (3:04 PM)

And we had better nicknames too -- like No-Neck Williams. They wouldn't call a guy No-Neck today. You wouldn't call a guy with a briefcase No-Neck.

Jim Bouton

  (3:05 PM)

There are always a few knuckleballers who carry on the tradition, and we all root for each other, because we all have shared the experience of standing on the mound with <i>nothing</i> but flutters. We're kind of like matadors facing the bull.

Paul (Wyckoff, NJ)

Mr. Bouton,You are the best! I met you a few times and was always in awe of your kindness and willingness to talk to your fans.Here's a question I've never found an answer to:Whatever happened to Joe Schultz your Seattle Pilots Manager?Also, why doesn't your book, "I managed good, but boy did they play bad" ever get any recognition?Keep up the great work!Paul

Jim Bouton

  (3:07 PM)

Unfortunately Joe passed on in the last few years, but his legacy lives on, including his valuable lesson about bunting.

David, Israel

Hi Jim,Ball Four is my all-time favorite sports book. I finally have a chance to tell you so. It's one of the funniest, most entertaining books I ever read!Free agency has caused a huge revolution since the days when you fought the Yankees for a couple of thousands of dollars more a year.Do you know if today's Major Leaguers are aware of Ball Four and its significance, and have any expressed their opinions about it, or comparisons to their era?

Jim Bouton

  (3:09 PM)

A few players have said to me in clubhouses that they've read Ball Four in high school or earlier, and it made them more than ever want to become big-league players.

mike w., chicago

Mr. Bouton - Just wanted to let you know that "Ball Four" is my favorite book of all time. It's pretty scary when my friends and I quote lines from the book to each other.Do you still keep in touch with any of your former Pilots teammates? Just wondering how Steve Hovley is."God, I wish Hovley would make this team."Thanks.

Jim Bouton

  (3:10 PM)

Yes ... Gary Bell, Steve Hovley, Tommy Davis. It's been a long time and guys have scattered.

Jim Bouton

  (3:11 PM)

Also, I ran into John Kennedy a few weeks ago at a bookstore. John Kennedy, who knocked over the water cooler after he struck out ... he said his greenie kicked in.

Matt (NYC)

Jim, you have always been very honest about your views and opinions, even when they, at times, went against the grain of baseball. With this in mind, I ask you, what is your opinion of singing "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch. Aside from the mixing of religion into baseball, I find the routine too nationalistic and unnecessary. What is your opinion?

Jim Bouton

  (3:13 PM)

I don't think it's a good idea. I think it's trying to capitalize and sentimentalize the tragedy of 9/11. It's out of place. And there are baseball fans who don't believe in God, and they shouldn't be preached to in song at a baseball game.

Jim Bouton

  (3:13 PM)

I've never liked the way that sports tries to tie itself to patriotic gestures.

David, Cambridge, MA

I am a huge fan, Bulldog. Have read all your books and even played with an ex-teammate of yours, Buck Brandon in a baseball league in which he was 50 years old and pitched against college kids (he still had it by the way.) I wanted to get your thoughts on being invited back to the Old Timer's Game at Yankee Stadium. Also wanted to get your thoughts on Mickey Mantle -- especially how right before he died, he spoke out his bad behavior and tried to be an influence to others.

Jim Bouton

  (3:17 PM)

Yes, Mickey was more heroic in his passing than he ever was as a baseball player. I had more respect for him when I heard what he had to say about his life. He showed very nice perspective. He became an even more beloved figure just before he died. Also, he certainly helped the cause of organ donation. And I'm really glad the two of us had the chance to connect -- without actually speaking to each other -- when we connected through a note I sent to him, and his reply on my telephone answering machine in response to my know. It was after his son Billy passed away. I think it was Mickey's way of making up, of telling me that he was OK about Ball Four.

Orlando Gonzales, Chicago IL

Mr. Bouton, I loved your book! One of the best. Just wanted to know, are the Yankees still mad you?

Jim Bouton

  (3:18 PM)

I think a few of them still are, but I would say that most don't really care, one way or the other.

John (Bay Village, OH)

I've read Ball Four so many times that my paperback is held together with a couple of binder clips. And I learned how to hold my knuckleball from the picture on the cover. So I have to know - is that your hand, or was I copying from a hand model who never threw a baseball?

Jim Bouton

  (3:19 PM)

My hand. I do my own modeling work. Ha.

Jim Bouton

  (3:19 PM)

And I do my own stunts.

John, Philadelphia, PA

Hi Jim, Any chance you can channel Terry Lennox and have him tell us why Marlowe snapped at the end of Altman's The Long Goodbye? Not to take anything away from your acting chops, but I've heard it mentioned that your being cast in Altman's film was in some ways a commentary on American masculinity (as it was a reference to your expose/demythologization of some pretty big cultural icons). Can you comment on this? And will you reprise your role any time soon?

Jim Bouton

  (3:21 PM)

So that's why I was shot!! Never crossed my mind until now that there were other reasons for bumping me off. I'm surprised it didn't happen before ... why did they wait so long!?

Andrew (Milwaukee, WI)

Hi Jim - First off, Ball Four is one of my favorite books of all time. I have read it many, many times. Are you still inventing things? And have you had any inventions get picked up by big companies?

Jim Bouton

  (3:22 PM)

No, not inventing things, and no big companies have paid me any money for anything.

Jimmie (Sonora,CA)

I have never hear how Bud Selig feels about Ball Four. Have you?

Jim Bouton

  (3:23 PM)

No. I don't imagine he keeps it by the bed.

Jim Bouton

  (3:23 PM)

I would be surprised to find that he has a dog-eared copy lying around.

Moderator

  (3:25 PM)

We have lots of questions, Jim, but no one's asked about former commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who hated your book Ball Four. Ever run into Bowie any more?

Jim Bouton

  (3:26 PM)

As far as I know, Bowie "The Ayatollah" Kuhn is playing tennis in Florida with the savings and loan crooks.

Jay, Buffalo

Do you follow baseball with any zeal or do you watch it with dispassion?

Jim Bouton

  (3:29 PM)

I watch it with dispassion, but interest. And I'm enjoying the playoffs and World Series this year. And I'll take this opportunity to begin a campaign to eliminate the term "postseason." Baseball fans everywhere should rise up against the use of this term -- especially when it comes to comparing Mickey, Whitey, and the other greats to today's players. We didn't have a "postseason" -- we had the World Series. You can't break Mickey Mantle's "postseason" record. You have to compare apples to apples. The TV guys are comparing bananas, grapefruits, and pairs to apples, and they have to stop doing that.

Ben, Asheville, NC

Hey Jim - What do you make of David Wells bragging about his poor conditioning regimen in the pre-game press conference before Game 5, and then taking himself out due to back spasms?

Jim Bouton

  (3:30 PM)

David Wells has said and done a few things he's had to take back later.

Wayne, Washington, DC

Jim - no one has asked, so I will. Should Pete Rose be allowed to be considered for entry into the Hall of Fame?

Jim Bouton

  (3:30 PM)

Yes. He had a gambling addiction. He wasn't fixing ballgames. There's a big difference.

New York, NY

For somebody who has never read Ball Four, and is about to sit down with it - what three things would you as the author want me to think about as I read?

Jim Bouton

  (3:32 PM)

I think people should approach any book with an open mind.

Wayne (Burlington VT)

Hi, Jim. I loved Foul Ball, though it did anger me (and not send any money to WAMC.)What is the current status of the Berkshire Black Bears? If they bail, are you still interested in keeping baseball in Wauconah Park?If you want a case study in how to run a ballclub in an old park in a small town, you need only visit Burlington. Over 100,000 fans 10 years running in 37 dates per year.

Jim Bouton

  (3:35 PM)

Pittsfield, like almost every other community in the country, faces the threat of losing its ball team if they don't build a new stadium. I call it "America's most costly hostage crisis." Billions are spent on tax-payer financed stadiums at the expense of schools, hospitals, and fire departments. It's corporate welfare on a massive scale, and people who aren't even baseball fans are indirectly subsidizing the high salaries in baseball today, because owners don't have to build their own buildings, as they would have to in any other business.

Bill Blacksburg, VA

Jim, Watched you pitch when I was a kid 9 or 10, and always imitated your very overhand delivery, but could never get my hat to fall off. How do you account for your longevity with such a violent delivery?

Jim Bouton

  (3:37 PM)

What longevity?? I had two good years, and the rest of the time was spent hanging on. Ha.

Juan (San Antonio)

Hi Jim...what's Gary Bell up to these days? He lives here in San Antonio, and he's somewhat of a celebrity because of your book

Jim Bouton

  (3:38 PM)

Go to the nearest bar and ask him yourself.

Heath (Dayton)

One question and a comment - You spent a spring training with Lou Pinella? Has he changed in thirty plus years?On your family note, I've read all off the Ball Fours, Fives, Sixes, Foul Balls, etc. Your family life seemed to be central part of your post-baseball life. I know your son wrote a fanatasic letter to get you back to Yankee Stadium and you lost your daughter to a tragic accident. Tell us about "Magic Lady" and your grandkids (if you have any!)

Jim Bouton

  (3:40 PM)

Lou seems as "sweet" as he always was.

Jim Bouton

  (3:40 PM)

I've always had my family behind me, and I seem to need them more than ever as time goes by.

Jim Bouton

  (3:41 PM)

I have a question for the questioner ... how early can you teach a grandchild the knuckleball?

Mel (NY, NY)

Hi Jim,What do you think of the supposed widespread use of steriods in baseball today? And could you compare it to the use of greenies in that they gave the user an advantage?

Jim Bouton

  (3:44 PM)

Both are dangerous. Players take them to enhance performance. They should be banned. The players association makes a mistake by not trying forcefully to keep them out of the game. The health concerns outweigh the privacy concerns. And it's not fair to players who aren't taking the drugs. There should be strict, frequent testing and stiff penalties.

Tom (Seattle, WA)

When is somebody going to get wise and start up Ball Four, the TV show, again?

Jim Bouton

  (3:45 PM)

Ha. After the memory of the first one is completely erased.

Jim Bouton

  (3:46 PM)

It was a good concept, but bad execution. Plus, in 1975, you couldn't scratch or spit on television. It ended up looking like Gilligan's Island in baseball uniforms. ... without Tina Louise.

Bob (Glen Rock, NJ)

Jim - has anything changed in baseball's attitude towards the knuckleball? Are today's pitchers faced with the same sort of negative reinfrocement that you were? Is that why we still don't see more pitchers using it?

Jim Bouton

  (3:47 PM)

Yes, I believe so. Managers don't like things they can't control. And they can't control the knuckleball.

Jim Bouton

  (3:48 PM)

Also, when a knuckleball pitcher gives up a walk, it looks bad, because it looks like the batter didn't earn it. But actually hits are worse than walks. They'll take a pitcher out for walking six guys but leave in a pitcher who gives up six hits.

Jim Bouton

  (3:50 PM)

It's a weird pitch. And managers don't like weird things that they don't understand. It always seems like luck when the knuckleball pitcher gets through the lineup. The knuckleball might die out, because very few kids, especially with so many things competing for kids' attention, who have time to throw the ball 'round the clock, which is what you need for a knuckleball. I predict the next great generation of knuckleball pitchers will come from Asia, where patience is a virtue and Zen is part of the culture.

Ron (Philly)

I thought the racial tensions mentioned in your book were really enlightening. What is your sense of the way that racial relations are in today's clubhouses, particularly with the influx of Latin players.

Jim Bouton

  (3:52 PM)

I'm not in enough clubhouses today to really comment on that in particular, but it's very nice to see the game becoming multicultural, with Latin players as well as Asian players. There is a nice mix today. If kids in America stop playing sandlot ball, which seems to be dying out, baseball may be looking for the American ballplayer at some point. I don't see a lot of kids playing ball and running bases for fun.

kiddquick NJ

Bulldog, who is your favorite player to watch play now?

Jim Bouton

  (3:53 PM)

I enjoy watching Dontrelle Willis. Tim Wakefield, of course. Derek Jeter.

Phil (Portland, OR)

Will there ever be a reunion of the Seattle Pilots and why does it continue to be so difficult to put together?

Jim Bouton

  (3:55 PM)

I think the lore of the Pilots is too closely connected with the book Ball Four and also too closely connected with the lawsuit that Seattle had to file against Major League Baseball when MLB pulled the team out in 1970. So, I don't think MLB sees either of those things as anything they want to remind people about or support.

Jim Bouton

  (3:56 PM)

It's a fan idea, and the players and fans would love it, but MLB would not.

Jim Bouton

  (3:57 PM)

Perhaps a write-in campaign to the Mariners would help. It would draw some fans, for sure.

Jim Bouton

  (3:58 PM)

I asked Gary Bell if he thought enough players would come to a Pilots old-timers day, and he said, "Put a $20 bill on the floor with a string attached, and they'll come."

Bob (Glen Rock, NJ)

Hi Jim. I've read and re--read Ball four at least 10 times since it first came out. I read it again this summer along with my 16 year old son to give him a sense of what players are like off the field.I will never forget your story about walking across the outfield before a game with the line "Sometimes I forget to tingle." I know you don't spend a great deal of time at stadiums these days, but when you do, do you still remember what it felt like as a kid?

Jim Bouton

  (4:00 PM)

Yes, I do. I remember it, and whenever I am at a ballpark or stadium and look out on the field, it's hard to place myself there. It seems like I didn't actually do that. It seems like it must have been somebody else. But I'm always trying to remember.

Jim Bouton

  (4:01 PM)

Thank you for stopping by. It's been a pleasure. I had a great time. Thanks.

Jim Bouton

  (4:03 PM)

Feel free to stop by my web site as well, www.jimbouton.com, for more information on my books, including Foul Ball: My Life and Hard Times Trying to Save an Old Ballpark, in better bookstores everywhere.